Design and Color in Islamic Architecture: Eight Centuries of the Tile-Maker's Art

The Koranic proscription against human and animal imagery turned centuries of Islamic artists and architects inward, to create unmatched examples of geometric and decorative art. This lavish, authoritative book, with gorgeous photographs by Roland and Sabrina Michaud, provides an introduction and overview to, as the subtitle disarmingly puts it, "Eight Centuries of the Tile-Maker's Art." The often-anonymous Islamic artists whose work is featured here, however, were far more than tile-makers: they were astonishing draughtsmen, dazzling colorists, hypnotically inventive creators of endlessly spiraling design. The Michauds' photographs are complemented by text from the scholar Michael Barry. The book is lent increased interest by the fact that some of the landmarks featured are now off-limits to many Westerners, especially Americans.